You Never Know
by BadWolfBabe
Summary: <html><head></head>I had never really thought of George Weasley as anything more than a friend, up until right now. My brain almost exploded at the thought.</html>
1. Dumped

In a different life, I would have ended up with Cedric Diggory. But as this life would have it, I didn't. I learned that very abruptly, and very unpleasantly.

Cedric pulled me aside, right out front of the Hufflepuff common room entrance. I could smell the lingering scents of dinner from the kitchen down the hall (roast turkey breast and pounds of stuffing), but told myself to focus when I noticed Cedric's normally smiling eyes sadden. What could possibly be wrong? Cedric had just done very well in the First Task at the Triwizard Tournament earlier today, and had come away with both the golden egg and most of his face still intact.

"What's wrong?" I clutched his hand, which fell limp in my grasp. He was avoiding eye contact. This was bad.

"Michie, I've been thinking… And it's really hard for me to say this, because I still care a great deal about you. But I'm not… in love with you anymore."

I could hear students inside the common room hollering for Cedric's arrival. The clinking of dishes inside the kitchen. Peeves knocking over a suit of armor on the floor above us. My heart felt like it had just been pounded by a heavyweight boxing champion. My eyes burned with tears, but I couldn't let them out.

I opened and closed my mouth, searching for the right words. "I… You… What?"

Cedric honestly looked upset. His forehead crumpled and his eyes reddened a little, like he too was feeling the sting of tears. He reached out and grabbed my shoulder. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have led you on like this."

Led me on? How long had he been planning this? All of the triumphant images of Cedric and I emerging into the Hufflepuff common room, hand in hand, victorious for our house, dissolved like old film. Suddenly, I was very alone, my stomach very sick with nausea, my heart running like it had just conquered a marathon.

I didn't reply, only because I couldn't. Two years just became nothing. My heart ached, and my body shivered. I didn't let Cedric see my eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly. After a few silent moments, I heard him whisper the new password ("Dragon slayer") and disappear behind the portrait.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for Kelly or Kim to find me huddled on the ground outside the common room. It was like they had Michelle sensors that told them when I was upset. After Cedric left, a time bomb seemed to go off inside of me. And now I couldn't stop crying.<p>

"What happened?" Kelly asked, brushing strands of my blonde hair from my face. Both she and Kim had huddled next to me, keeping me warm in my misery. Their steady, tempered breathing relaxed me. After a convulsion of tears, I had steadied my breath enough to detail my latest encounter with my now ex-boyfriend.

"He is so tactless," Kim spat, quaking with anger. "Right after the first task?"

"Seriously, what a douche," Kelly angrily agreed.

"He said he had been thinking about it for a while." I shrugged, hoping some of my sadness would roll off of my shoulders. "At least he was honest."

I didn't want to talk about it anymore than I had to. My body felt weak and sick. Two years with Cedric Diggory. He was the dream boyfriend. He was handsome, kind, intelligent, a great athletic, and a prefect. He always remembered my birthday, and our "anniversary," and always made sure we did something special whenever the occasions occurred. He wasn't embarrassed to hold my hand in public, and wasn't shy about kissing me goodbye in front of his friends. If I had a problem, Cedric would listen, and rationalize a satisfactory solution. He helped me earn ten O.W.L.s, and was my biggest supporter in my ambition to be a Healer.

Cedric told me we would be together until we couldn't see, our hearing muffled, and our knees didn't bend.

But today, he was gone.

Tonight, he wouldn't kiss me good night. He wouldn't hold me in front of the fire or tell me about how nervous he was before the task, and how relieved he felt afterwards. He wouldn't wait for me for breakfast tomorrow, or lunch, or dinner.

My eyes burned and I let out a wild sob. Kelly and Kim instinctively held me closer. They were the best friends I ever had.

I heard two familiar voices bouncing off the walls from down the hall. They were approaching the kitchen, probably to supply a Gryffindor celebration party. The sound of footsteps matched the volume of voices and soon Fred and George Weasley were standing in front of us.

"Blimey… what happened?" George asked, sympathetic.

No one replied right away, so Fred shot his twin a "hurry up and let's get it on with it" look. George didn't budge.

"What's wrong?" he insisted.

When I wouldn't speak, Kelly conceded, "Cedric just broke up with her."

"Just now?" George sounded worried. His shadow covered my body, and I knew he had knelt down in front of me. "Are you all right?"

No one spoke again. George resigned himself to the fact that I would be all right.

"George?" Fred urged his twin, "We should really get going…"

"Right." My friend stood, and walked towards the kitchens with his brother. I could hear the pear in the portrait giggle, and knew they had gotten inside.

"That was nice of him," Kim muttered ominously, trying to provoke a response from me.

"He's a nice guy," I admitted, hastily brushing away the tear stains on my cheeks with the back of my sleeve.

The unexpected arrival of the Weasley twins gave me something else to focus my energies on besides Cedric. After a few minutes in the kitchen, Fred and George reemerged, their robes bursting with stolen sweets. When they walked by, Fred winked at me–his only notion of sympathy. George smiled kindly and waved. Just when they seemed to have disappeared down the hallway, I heard the familiar pounding footsteps.

George whipped out a small chocolate cake from underneath his robes, and handed it to me. He smiled goofily.

"Sweets for a sweet," he winked, and then ran to meet up with Fred. A rope tightened around my stomach, and I cracked the tiniest smile.

Kelly and Kim exchanged excited smiles. And then, Kelly stood.

"Come on," Kelly coaxed me. "Let's get inside. There will be drinks."

"Ahh yes, fire whiskey sounds great right about now," Kim quipped, and also stood. The two each offered me a hand. I held onto my friends as they pulled me from the ground.

I wasn't much of a drinker, but I was enticed by the potential mind melting abilities of fire whiskey. And the smug look on Cedric's face when he realized what he had done to me. Cedric never let me drink too much. And now I would show him.

"I wonder when I'll get him back," I thought aloud. Kelly and Kim exchanged disapproving looks.

"Don't count on it," Kelly said harshly. When she saw the shocked look on my face, her face softened. "Just… Don't get your hopes up."

"Come on, let's try to have some fun," Kim beamed. "I'll grab the drinks and we can start dancing."

"What if Cedric-"

"I'll beat the shit out of him, if he does," Kelly told me pointedly, as if reading my mind. "Try not to worry about it. And hey, no one's blaming you if you support Harry Potter now."

I smirked, and my mind drifted up to Gryffindor tower, where Fred and George had surely arrived to a roaring party. My aching heart soothed a little at George's sympathetic smile.

"Let's go," I declared confidently, or so I hoped.

* * *

><p>Sometimes I thought I was the only person who could tell the difference between Fred and George Weasley. Both were rowdy troublemakers, of course. And both were my friends. George, however, was my confidant. He was smoother around the rough edges of his personality, whereas Fred could be harsh and jagged. Fred was more impulsive. George was willing to let a thought settle before committing to it.<p>

I had met the twins in my first year at Hogwarts. Kelly, Kim and I had all intentions of attending the Salem Witches Institute in America, our homeland. Three letters from Hogwarts changed all of that, though. Our families decided Hogwarts could provide a better education, and we all moved to London. The transition certainly wasn't easy on our families, and my family has since vowed to return to America as soon as I finished my seventh year at Hogwarts; in other words, in another year. Kelly had a younger sister who was only invited to attend school in Salem, and so her family moved back to America a few years ago. Kelly lives with Kim's family. Kim had two older siblings who finished school at Salem a year before we started at Hogwarts.

My friendship with Fred and George took time and precision, almost like an advanced spell. They were both eager to befriend me, since I had a quirky American accent and all the charms of a pretty American girl, but trust was another issue. When I proved knowledgeable about clever pranks and ideas, they both came to respect me. Where my keenness to George over Fred developed sometime in that mess, I'm not sure. George resented my relationship with Cedric, and let me know it frequently. George hated the way Cedric "controlled me," and the way Cedric would scowl if I wanted to pull a prank with Fred or George. George also resented Cedric because of the Quidditch rivalry between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Cedric never spoke of my friendship with George, because I don't think it bothered him. Cedric was considerate, anyway.

Cedric and I had also met as first years, and grew into close friends quickly. As with any boy-girl friendship, it developed into a relationship—in our fourth year. I was spending all of my free time with Cedric. I would visit him for long stretches of time over the summer. Thinking about the Quidditch World Cup made my stomach churn–there Cedric and I had been allowed to sleep close together in our sleeping bags, hands touching. And he had protected me so valiantly in the forest once the Dark Mark had shown and chaos erupted…

Fred and George were sort of like the annoying big brothers I never had. But Cedric… Cedric was my soul mate.


	2. Dates

My face was red and blotchy from bawling all weekend. Despite my best intentions to get wasted the night of the first task, I couldn't separate my sadness from my desire to drink. And that upset me even more, so I took an early leave to my four poster bed, which comforted me as I mourned the loss of the best thing that ever happened to me.

It didn't help that Cedric and I were in the same year, and so we had all of the same classes together. I couldn't escape him. Cedric shot me mournful smiles, each apologizing for his tactless break up, which served to do nothing more than fuel my pitiful chamber of hope in my stomach. Maybe Cedric just needed a breather. He would be back with me in no time.

Every time I ran this theory past Kim and Kelly, their empathy levels dissolved. I knew they were trying to shield me from harm, but their acid tongues jumped at my throat every time I said I missed Cedric. They were great friends, but they weren't much for redundancies.

So it was stupid that I started crying again when George asked me how I was doing. George reacted instinctively, and put an arm around my shoulder.

"You'll be all right," he crooned, but that didn't stop the tears from pouring from my eyes. "He was a worthless git anyway. Think of how much more fun you can have now that you are single!"

Single. The word sounded biting, like vomit or pussy. I ground my teeth into my gums and swallowed.

"I don't want to be…" I drifted off. Cedric walked by at the moment, in the company of some pretty Ravenclaw girl, and a few of his usual Hufflepuff gang. I inhaled sharply, and couldn't help but wondering furiously if I had already been replaced.

"You're all right," George reassured me. "Where are you going next? I'll walk you…"

He walked me up to the astronomy tower, his arm snaked around my shoulder. His skin was warm against my neck, and it reminded me of the way Cedric carried me to class every morning…

"Stop that," George admonished playfully, wiping away the new tears from my eyes. "How is he going to regret losing you if you're crying all the time?"

I smiled gratefully at my friend, and leaned in to his embrace.

"Thank you," I said, muffled against his robes.

"No problem," he beamed, and scurried off to his class.

* * *

><p>"There are several stages to a break-up," Kelly said matter-of-factly. "And you should be just about near 'Acceptance,' not 'Misery.'"<p>

Two weeks had gone by since Cedric had broken up with me. Cedric and I had not spoken to each other since. Cedric continued to try to make eye contact with me, as if he insisted we stayed friends, but I couldn't handle the pressure of "just friends," any more than I could handle the pressure of "acceptance."

Kelly, Kim and I were lounging in front of the fireplace in the Hufflepuff common room. There were several older students still milling about, talking and laughing like their worlds hadn't just shattered two weeks ago. It was getting late, nearly eleven o'clock, and we were still working rigorously on some essay Snape had assigned us. It was due tomorrow, of course.

"It's easier said than done," I mumbled, but even I had to admit this self-pitying angle was getting pathetic. I had cried less in the last week, but that didn't stop my heart from wringing itself out whenever I happened to catch Cedric smiling pitifully at me in class. George had also turned into a great help: he often snuck me treats from the kitchens (even though I could very well get them myself) and he and Fred tried to distract me by telling me about their newest ambition: to open a joke shop.

Somehow, I could relate everything in my life back to my ex-boyfriend. Cedric wanted to work for the ministry, like his father. Cedric struggled so hard to make his dad proud.

"Did you hear about the Yule Ball?" Kim asked cheerily. She was really good at not doing homework. "It's happening on Christmas night. I need to get a dress."

"There's a Hogsmeade visit coming up soon," Kelly grinned. "Ah, good, an excuse to go dress shopping."

"Do you think we'll need dates?" Kim wondered aloud. I watched the light from the fire flicker in my two best friend's eyes, and suddenly I felt very lonely.

"Nah, we can go stag, together," Kelly grabbed my and Kim's hands. "Because we're in love!" she sang.

My stomach burned. I wondered who Cedric would be taking. It would have been so romantic for us to go together…

"Do you want to go?" Kim stared at me, her voice full of hope. "It will be fun!"

It could be fun with friends. Maybe I could dance with a Durmstrang boy after rocking out with Kim and Kelly.

"I heard The Weird Sisters are performing there," Kelly crossed her fingers. "Here's hoping. The bassist? So hot."

Excitement brewed inside of me. Kelly, Kim and I had been dying to see The Weird Sisters live for years. And now they were coming to Hogwarts?

"Oh my God! I love The Weird Sisters!" I exclaimed, and flailed my arms. Positivity seemed to flow back into my limbs, and for the first time in two weeks, I felt human again. "This is going to be fucking great!"

"I know!" my friends choired, and we all giggled girlishly.

"What kind of dress should I get?" I asked, my mind far gone from Cedric and Snape's essay.

"Something hot," Kelly wiggled her eyebrows. "Lots of cleavage."

"Definitely," Kim nodded enthusiastically.

I beamed, and swiveled my head around to see if Cedric had been listening to how happy I sounded. He wasn't in the common room.

* * *

><p>Our plan of going stag quickly hit a snag. The next day, Kim got asked to the Ball by a very attractive Durmstrang boy named Thom. And of course, she couldn't say no when she looked into his gorgeous and super mysterious gray eyes. Kim flailed and managed to stutter yes. A few days after that, Kelly was asked to go with a seventh year Ravenclaw boy who looked almost exactly like the bassist from The Weird Sisters. His name was Billie, and he was super mega hot. So she couldn't say no.<p>

Dress shopping had come and gone with massive amounts of giggling, and we settled on different, but very scandalous looking dresses. My enthusiasm for the Ball had been dampened by the fact that I would be going alone, despite my friend's insistences that I would not be alone at all.

"You seem to be in a better mood," George said cautiously, like he was handling a very large Blast Ended Skrewt. We were walking back from a particularly long charms class, in which Cedric did not glance my way at all.

"Mostly, yes," I agreed, and confirmed my newfound emotion with a smile.

"Great, glad to hear," George beamed. His face fell suddenly, and he adopted a very serious tone, "Listen, I've been meaning to ask you then…"

"Ask me?" My mind swarmed with the possible questions he could ask.

His face turned a bright shade of pink and he sputtered, trying to sound confident, "I wondered if you wanted to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

I had never really thought of George Weasley as anything more than a friend, up until right now. My brain almost exploded at the thought.

"Ah, really?" I asked, skeptical of his intentions. My mind moved to George holding my waist, to George waltzing with me under a canopy of stars and icicles, and to George pressing his warm mouth against mine…

"Yes," he seemed to have regained his confidence, and puffed out his chest. "It would be a blast. You and me."

I almost said no, only because the idea of venturing into dating made me feel just as nauseous as I had when Cedric dumped me. But if I did say no, then I would most definitely be alone on the night of the Yule Ball. And that would be less fun than handling a large Blast Ended Skrewt.

But then my thoughts swirled, and I imagined George looking awkwardly handsome in black dress robes, and us having a laugh at everyone else around us. It could be a lot of fun, going on a date with the school's prankster.

"What about Fred?" I asked, wondering if that would leave his twin alone.

"He has a date," George winked, "Angelina Johnson."

I made a noise of amusement, and George grinned. "So, I take that as a yes?"

I braced myself for the impending gloom of commitment, but it didn't come. Instead, I couldn't wait to tell Kim and Kelly. "Yes!"


	3. A Beginning?

"Guess who asked me to the Yule Ball?" I was practically bursting with the answer. Kim and Kelly were both in the middle of a very animated over-dinner discussion, complete with spitting of food and everything. I squeezed myself on the bench next to Kim, and waited for their excited guesses.

"George Weasley?" Kelly guessed correctly, her mouth in a tiny smirk. When I didn't disagree, she muttered, "About bloody time."

"Huh?" I thought I heard what she said, but wasn't sure. Kelly didn't repeat herself.

"That's great!" Kim exploded, and latched onto me. "You're going to have so much fun! We will have to reconvene halfway through to discuss how our dates are doing."

"I'm sure Billie will do fine," Kelly grinned suggestively. "It's going to be fun times all around."

"It's sort of weird that he asked me," I said abruptly, the thought pouring into my mind.

"No it's not," Kelly replied, her face serious. When I shot her a patronizing look, she repeated, "What? It's not."

"You're going to have fun," Kim drew out the last syllable, rocking me back and forth on the bench. "I'm so excited for you!"

I eyed Kelly, curious as to what she knew that I didn't know. We hardly kept secrets between the three of us. When she could feel my eyes burning a question mark into her temple, Kelly shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. Let's dress all slutty and have a good time."

"Maybe not slutty," Kim corrected her quickly. I peeked over at my shoulder during this moment of awkward conversation to try to find George, but he was lost in a mass of scarlet clad Gryffindors.

Kelly shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The words tumbled off of my tongue before I could stop them, "Who is Cedric taking to the ball?"

Neither of my friends replied right away. I spied a look down the end of the table, where Cedric was laughing uproariously at something one of his best friends had just said. I wished I had heard the joke.

"She's in Ravenclaw," Kim started, her voice quiet. "A fifth year, I think."

"Cho Chang," Kelly pointed behind her, where the very pretty Asian girl I had seen Cedric walking with before was sitting. "She's a snob. And has pretty much fucked every guy in Ravenclaw. I guess it was only a matter of time before she crossed into our house."

"You think they…" I had to stop myself from asking, because I could feel my newly consumed dinner creep back into my esophagus.

"Probably," Kelly said bitterly. When she saw my face swim with shock, she waved it off. "Don't even think about it. Fucking is just how she says hello."

"But he's not like that," I said indignantly, my cheeks turning red.

"I guess he is now," Kim sighed. "And don't even think about asking how to fuck him better. It won't get him back."

"Yeah, so not worth the herpes she's probably given him already. Besides, you have George now. And you'll have a lovely, herpes-free time at the ball," Kelly grinned.

If sex was the reason Cedric broke up with me, I was furious enough to beat him to his death. But I knew that it wasn't, and so I still couldn't muster a good enough reason for me to hate him.

* * *

><p>On Christmas day, Hogwarts became a flurry of overexcited girls and under excited boys. Girls were squealing to each other on how to do their hair and what dress they bought and what about their nails. Boys were exchanging anxious eye rolls, already ready for the night to be over with.<p>

I had only seen George in herbology, and even then I wouldn't say much of what we did was interaction. He would send me a sly wink periodically, and I felt my stomach flutter with excitement. My resentment towards Cedric and Cho had grown into an awful feeling of defeat every time I saw them pass me in the hallways holding hands. I was holding his hand almost a month ago. That was me…

I didn't talk to Kelly or Kim about Cedric anymore. I had stretched their sympathy too far thin. After the dinner conversation, I didn't mention Cedric again.

After dinner, all of the girls retreated to their houses to get changed and beautified. Kelly, Kim and I shared a room (with two other girls we could never remember the names of, despite our living together for six years). We had an hour before the ball began, and too much to do. Stage one, we each changed into our respective dresses. Kelly had bought a floor length black and white strapless gown. Kim had bought a shiny purple cocktail dress that nicely accentuated her chest (which made her turn redder than her hair and stomp her feet in disapproval, although she secretly loved the compliment). I had decided on a dark blue cocktail dress covered in black lace with a black bow on the back. Stage two, hair decoration. Since Kim's hair was too short to work with, we formed a train where Kim did Kelly's hair and Kelly did my hair. Stage three, make-up. Since each of us was super picky about how we liked to look, we were racing only the clock to get ready on time.

When I had finished getting ready, I examined my finished product in the mirror. Cedric would have liked how I looked. He would have kissed me on the cheek and told me I was beautiful. The thought roused a dull ache in my chest, but I had to bury it when Kim asked by yelling, "Are you ready, Michelle?"

I took a deep breath and faced my friends with a forced smile. No, don't do that… You'll have lots of fun.

"Let's go," Kim urged, and grabbed my hand. By her weak smile I could tell that she was anxious about meeting her date.

"You'll be fine," I told her, and she became so flustered by my confidence that she looked away.

* * *

><p>The Great Hall had transformed into a winter wonderland. Icicles and snow dangled from the ceiling, Christmas trees perched in the corner, and all of the small round tables adorned in shimmering, silvery cloth. The room was sparkling. Kelly and Kim grasped my hands and together, we descended the staircase in front of the Great Hall. The foyer was swarming with people, which made it extremely difficult to locate each of our dates. Slowly, couples trickled into the Great Hall, leaving the foyer much less crowded.<p>

Kelly's date came first, and he whisked her away in the Great Hall with a wide, anxious smile on her face. I never saw Kelly more nervous than on first dates, and she had been on plenty. Kim and I stood awkwardly in the foyer, holding each other's hands. It was like we were reassuring the other we wouldn't leave.

"I wonder where he is," Kim said breathily, her fear etched in her eyebrows. I squeezed her hand tighter for reassurance.

"George isn't here, either," I pointed out, and she nodded.

"We'll be okay."

But what if George didn't show up? What if he actually forgot about our date? That wasn't like him, but my faith in men had quickly declined after Cedric's tactless break up choice. I scanned the crowd for flaming red hair, but only found some on my best friend. I took to watching the shadows dance off of the walls like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

After a few agonizing minutes, Kim's date showed up. Relief swelled in face and she released it in one large breath. Kim squeezed my hand one last time before disappearing into the Great Hall. And now I was alone.

And then, I felt a warm hand scratch against my lace shoulder straps. His face came close to my ear, and crooned, "Waiting for someone, miss?"

I jumped in my skin, and turned around to see George wearing a toothy grin and smart black dress robes.

"It takes you longer to get ready than a girl!" I teased, and smacked his arm.

"Please, beauty like this doesn't take five minutes." He batted his eyelashes.

I smirked. "Right. More like days?"

George gaped at my humor. "You are a cruel woman."

"You should have known what you were getting yourself into."

"I like where this is going."

I inhaled, making a hissing sound. "Not there."

"Right, right. Just kidding. Come on, let's get inside. Don't want to get trampled by the champions."

I had almost forgotten–Cedric would be making his official debut with Cho tonight. My insides burned at the thought, so I tried not to think.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks to the watchful eyes of one Miss Cecilia Ward, I did change one small (but important) detail in this chapter: Cedric and Michelle's sex life. I had originally written this story thinking that they had not. But after stewing on it, I realized that-after two long years and a castle full of horny teens-they probably would have. The detail was easy enough to alter, and now the continuity makes sense. Thanks again, Cecilia Ward! (This is why I love you, reviewers!)**


	4. Fun, Mostly

George seemed have a compass built to find Fred. As soon as we entered the Great Hall, glowing in the magnificent candlelight and ice, George brought me over to his twin and his date, a very tall, pretty black girl. I felt very small standing next to her, in height and in looks. I wanted some sort of reassurance, but George was too busy whispering and cackling with Fred.

I didn't want to see Cedric enter. I didn't want to see Cedric happy anymore. I crossed my arms, and looked for Kim or Kelly. My frustration swallowed me whole and then, I wanted to leave.

But Fred and George weren't standing away from the crowd for a better view: slow, dreamy music signaled the parade of champions, but the twins continued their banter. My anger relaxed a little. Once the dreamy music ended, after a very long and treacherous waltz, The Weird Sisters were due to come out at any minute. The crowed seethed with excitement.

The band was greeted to louder screams than those at the First Task. Once they rolled into their first song and the crowd started jumping, Fred and Angelina disappeared into the mosh pit. George and I stood awkwardly next to each other for a few moments. There was no real definition about our current relationship, and I hated not knowing.

I wouldn't have entirely minded it if this was the beginning of our relationship. I thought of late nights in Gryffindor common room, talking in hushed voices about our futures, our relationships, our lives. Pranks pulled late at night, midday, early in the morning across Hogwarts school. Run-ins at the Three Broomsticks, passing an illegal drink or two around.

I always had a good time when I was with George, and my heart hummed with all of our pleasant memories. While Cedric could sometimes be sterile in his responses, George always made me laugh. I liked that in a guy.

"Shall we?" George leered, eyeing the crowd with a devilish glint in his eye. "I bet you we can get to the front."

"Through all of those people?" My eyes widened at the prospective task. "You're crazy."

"That's what my Mum says, anyway." I snickered. "I think we can do it."

George grabbed my hand and dove into the crowd. There were so many bodies, so many hands, so much yelling and screaming. I felt like I was apparating very unsuccessfully: my body was stretched between people, crushed beneath feet, and pushed against people I had never met before. Somewhere above me, Professor Flitwick was crowd diving.

"George!" I yelled, trying to get his attention, but he was at least three people in front of me. "I don't think this is a very good idea."

He didn't respond, so I figured my reluctance to continue his sudden stroke of brilliance didn't reach him.

"George!" I tried yelling again, my voice thin and pathetic. I couldn't tell where I was in the sea of stomping people. Finally, my date let me catch up to him. He had a devilish smirk on his face and a small, black orb between his fingers.

"Toss one of these," he insisted, "and we will have front row spots."

I had a good feeling what the black object was, but I wasn't entirely ready to join his ranks as chief prankster. Despite this nagging feeling in my gut, I did want to see The Weird Sisters, front row. At the same time, George and I casually tossed the orbs. Soon, a thick black smoke filled the area, unbeknownst to the band, and people in the front began filing away for lack of seeing.

George grabbed my hand again and suddenly, we were at the front of the stage with Fred, Angelina, and a few stragglers who didn't want to escape the smoke. My music was pounding through my skull, the vibrations making my heart shiver. Fred and Angelina were already thrashing their limbs about very violently. George smiled kindly at me, and together we copied Fred's crazy dance moves.

* * *

><p>After an hour of thrashing, my limbs were exhausted. Even Fred and Angelina had wandered off somewhere, complaining of being sore. The night was going well, better than I had expected anyway. I was finding George to not only be a great friend, but also to be a great date. He did all of the little things I had expected from Cedric: he tucked his arm around my waist, he kept me close, he made sure I wasn't getting trampled by the thundering crowd behind us, but mostly, it was his kooky grin that attracted me. George <em>always<em> seemed to be in a good mood.

"I've got to get something to drink," I yelled, over the crowd. It was hot and I felt like melting. "I'll be right back?"

George didn't answer, but instead trailed me out of the jumping crowd. When George wandered over to Fred, who was talking with a very morose looking Ron, I headed over to the punch table.

I scanned the multitude of bobbing heads for any semblance of Kelly or Kim, but I couldn't pick them out against the hundreds of students. Maybe they had wandered off to find an empty corridor? I smirked at the idea, and then felt my stomach swoop when I wondered if George and I would later do the same. Was I ready for it? I checked my breath against the back of my hand, and managed to determine that I would be okay for long-term snogging, if necessary.

Out of nowhere, I spotted Kelly rotating on the dance floor with Billie. When she glanced over in my direction, I waved enthusiastically. Kelly grabbed Billie's hand and pointed at me. I couldn't wait to meet him, when-

"Hi, Michelle." It was Cedric, standing in front of me in magnificent black dress robes. His light cocoa hair was slicked back and he stood wearing an awkward grin, like he had been planning this confrontation for weeks. "How are you?"

I honestly couldn't generate a response. I felt shell shocked by the fact that he was actually talking to me. After weeks of no interaction, now seemed like the right time?

"You look great," Cedric said feebly, his conversation starters wearing away. "Very pretty."

Now I had to say something. If only my voice was louder than the hammering in my chest. "Er, thanks. How is… How is Cho?"

Cedric's face fell a little. "Oh, great. We're having a lovely time. Listen, Michelle, I'm sorry for everything."

His apology and sincerity was so abrupt, I was left speechless. Again. I didn't want to get dragged back to my pit of misery, but I could already feel the familiar sting of shame when he continued, "I still care about you, a lot."

I stood, trying not to make eye contact, tightly clutching my punch glass with both hands. Any stronger and the glass may have shattered.

"Thanks," I muttered, and oh no, I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I figured by now I could look him in the eyes again, and when I did, I saw he looked upset.

"Don't cry. I didn't mean to… I just thought that… I'm not mad at you or anything… I still like you quite a bit." Cedric reached out to pull me into an embrace, but I stepped back.

I needed an escape. I must have looked stupid, trying to force my tears away in front of my ex-boyfriend. If Cho was watching, she must have been pissed. I glanced to my left, where I had previously saw Kelly and Billie stand. Now I only have a furious looking blurry version of my best friend, approaching rapidly.

"I know," I said, only because I had to say something. "It's alright. I-I…"

I wanted to tell him that I still cared about him too, but what was the point? Cedric wasn't interested anymore. I didn't understand the point of this talk. To reignite our friendship? I had no appropriate feelings for him anymore, no semblance of any friendship still lingered in my mind.

"Michelle, I need to talk to you," Kelly said, her voice soft. She removed the punch glass from my hand, and pulled me away, her arm entwined with mine. I noticed Kelly turned around and shot Cedric a nasty look.

Kelly walked me to an isolated corner in the Great Hall, where I collapsed into her arms. When she asked me what happened, I sought solace in her empathy, and told her exactly what Cedric had told me. I glanced up, beyond Kelly's worried face, and saw Cedric still standing at the punch table, looking downtrodden. Unexpectedly, I saw George storming over to Cedric, his mouth moving rapidly, but I couldn't make out any of the words.

Kelly noticed where my eyes had fallen. Cedric now looked politely offended, one of my favorite faces, his mouth moving just as quickly.

"Don't worry about them," Kelly muttered, pushing loose strands of hair out of my face. "That was a stupid thing for Cedric to do. He should have known you would still have feelings for him."

"Yeah," I responded weakly.

Kelly smiled. "Are you having a good time with George?"

I nodded, and told her about our mischievous descent to the front of the crowd.

"Oh, man! I wish I was up there!" she lamented, which only made me feel slightly better. My mind wandered back to Cedric's sad face. He still cared about me. Was it stupid of me to still want him back? Maybe he and Cho weren't going to last…

Kelly resumed talking to me normally, trying to distract me. When I looked past her, George and Cedric had gone.

"Come on, let's get up," Kelly tugged me off the ground, and I had a sensation of déjà vu. "Let's go find our boys."

But Cedric wasn't my boy, no matter how much I wanted him to be. Part of me knew that was a beautiful thing, especially when I saw George angrily venting to Fred. I knew he was telling him about Cedric's tactless apology. I felt happy to have a guy care this much about me. On the other hand, I couldn't just forget two years of a generally happy, stable relationship. It was familiar and secure, like a childhood blanket.

Kelly led me over to George, my hand enveloped in hers. When we reached the twins, both standing with annoyed expressions on their faces, Kelly spoke, "Don't worry about it."

Telling anyone not to worry about anything was not a bright decision. And yet, Kelly commanded such a large field of respect and power that even George bitterly nodded. Kelly extended our hands to George, who took mine in his. George's hand was warm, but the unfamiliarity of the hand made me feel uneasy. Was I really starting a new relationship, right now?

It seemed my touch was like a relaxant to my date. George smiled, his face much less tense, and offered, "Let's dance."


	5. Is This Happening?

After having assaulted the Yule Ball with hours of their catchy hard, fast music, The Weird Sisters had finally started playing their ballads. This decision had considerably cleared the dance floor. I wondered if Cedric was rotating with Cho, his mind still on our misunderstanding.

But then George put his hand firmly on my waist, and all of the oxygen evaporated from my lungs. George didn't notice, or at least pretended not to.

I tried to have a good time again, but my mind was crammed with anxious thoughts from the evening. After our fourth slow dance, during which George cracked several good jokes that made even my angst ridden mind laugh, I wanted to leave. It had to be getting late: the dance floor was nearly bare.

"Come on, it's getting late," George nodded towards the exit. "You seem tired. Let's get you to your room."

Tired didn't even begin to cover it. I smiled at the thought of my warm bed and comfortable blankets, Kelly and Kim close by, and followed George out of the exit.

* * *

><p>George had no problem finding the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. Considering one of his favorite past times was nicking food from the kitchens after hours, I wasn't surprised.<p>

We were standing a few feet away from the entrance; in nearly the same spot Cedric had dumped me. When George faced me, his mouth turned upward in a smile, I suddenly felt very nervous. How was I supposed to say goodbye?

"I had a great time," I said, and I'm not exactly sure why. I had a mostly great time, was more accurate.

But George nodded in agreement. "It was a lot of fun."

Awkward silence seemed to drape over us. I even wished Peeves would zoom by so I could have a reason to escape.

"Er, so…" I started, but George interrupted me.

"I really like you," he sputtered, his normally confident face reddened.

"What?" My face blazed.

George didn't reply right away. He wrapped his arms around the small of my back, trapping my body against his. I could feel my heart in my throat and before I could ask what was going on, he said, "Stop that."

"Stop what?" I repeated, bewildered.

"What you're doing to my heart." And he bent over, slowly.

I had barely processed his awful, corny attempt at romance when his lips pressed against mine.

Lips carried curious sensations. Cedric's lips made me feel important, proud and giggly. Like I was the girlfriend of the popular jock in an awful high school drama. Before that, I had kissed a boy named Owen, who tasted like salty potato chips and made me feel like nothing more. But George made my body tingle, like fireworks were shooting off in my fingers and toes. I felt my heart tighten in my throat, like I could hardly believe this was happening. But it was happening, fast.

George's mouth was warm, and his tongue tasted like the punch I never got to try at the Ball. His hands tightened against my back, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

I had no idea how long we were outside of my common room. But I didn't care. And then I heard, "Shouldn't you be off to bed?"

We both jumped, and turned to see Professor Sprout wearing her oversized pajamas, dirty brown hat, and a smug smile.

My face felt like it was boiling. I stammered, "Er, ah, yes, Professor. Sorry, I didn't mean... I was, just, ah, good night." And I rushed into the common room.

My head was spinning, and I felt so dizzy I collapsed in front of the closest arm chair I could find. I tried to steady my breathing, but I couldn't help but wonder if George would be all right, or if Filch would find him, too. As I calmed down, my stomach tightened in a mixture of nausea and excitement. George was a great kisser.

"I didn't know you were seeing Weasley," Cedric's voice made me jump, again, and I tilted my head to see him sitting in the arm chair on the other side of the common room.

"I… I'm not," I managed to say. Cedric's eyes were narrowed in disappointment and fury. Despite this, I couldn't help but ask, "Er. What time is it?"

"Almost two," he said icily.

"Right," I nodded. My body shaking, I rose to go to bed.

"I was only trying to be nice," Cedric said suddenly, as I was passing his chair.

I remembered how I under reacted, and then how George overreacted. "I know. I'm sorry."

"I don't like him," Cedric said acidly. "He's not a very good person, don't you think? All he ever does is get into trouble. I heard he only got three O.W.L.s. Come on, Michelle, you can do better than that."

For some reason, I felt my cheeks redden. "Well, I like him," I said coolly.

Cedric stared into the fire, the flames reflected in his retinas. "I still care about you. A lot," he said softly.

My heart quivered, but I felt stronger than I did earlier. "I'm not sure you do," I admitted.

Cedric didn't reply. Empowered, I even asked, "Did you have a good night with Cho?"

Despite himself, Cedric broke out into a wide grin. "Yeah, she's great."

I expected to feel my heart sever, but instead it didn't react. Numb, maybe.

"Good." I swallowed my pride, and added, "I'm glad."

I stood next to him, unable to make eye contact. Cedric looked solemn.

"I'm going to bed," I said, even though I think he didn't care.

"Good night," he said half-heartedly.

* * *

><p>"So how was your night?" Kelly beamed at me. We were eating breakfast in the Great Hall. Kim looked exhausted, maybe even a little hung over, but Kelly looked positively giddy.<p>

"Well, after the incident…" I trailed off. Kim looked up, her eyes red and puffy.

"She knows, I filled her in," Kelly explained quickly. Kim smiled and nodded, but then clutched her forehead and cringed.

"Okay. Well. George and I danced for a little longer after that. And then when he walked me home we sort of…" I trailed off again. "Snogged. For a really long time."

Both Kelly and Kim were staring at me, wide eyed. Kim gaped, "You what?"

"You heard me," my face reddened as the memory flooded back, filling my neurons. "And then Professor Sprout caught us. So I got all nervous and ran inside and found Cedric…"

I divulged my interaction with Cedric. Kelly and Kim's faces went from excitement to resentment.

Kelly shook her head, "What a douche. He just needs to leave you the hell alone."

Kim muttered, her voice hoarse and crackly, "Seriously. I'm glad you had, uh, fun with George."

I smiled awkwardly, and said, "Thanks."

As if on cue, George plopped down in the seat next to me, his face looking hurried, but mischievous.

"What did you do?" Kelly accused.

George nodded down the table, to where Cedric was sitting. Cedric was spooning porridge into his mouth, listening raptly to a friend's story.

"What did you do?" I repeated, harsher. When George smirked, I glanced down the table again. Cedric's tongue was expanding at an alarming rate. Cedric was starting to panic.

"Oh my-" Kim started, and slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, that's it," George grinned. "So what do you think? New Weasley product: the Ton-Tongue Toffee."

"I think…" I thought it was funny, but I wasn't sure if I should encourage him. Cedric was waving his hands around, trying to get attention from the Head Table.

"We've got to go, mate," Fred appeared, and said urgently to his twin. He then glanced at me and grinned, "How are you doing, lady?"

"Alright." George stood. "See you later, then!"

The twins walked very quickly out of the Great Hall, which had assumed its regular four long tables and decorations after last night. Kelly and Kim exchanged devious smirks. Down the table, Cedric was now being checked out by Professor Sprout.

* * *

><p>Kim had apparently spent the night with the Durmstrang boy getting drunk on their ship, where "the beds were cozy and the alcohol was cozier." She hardly lasted an hour at the dance. Kelly said she had fun with Billie, but didn't see much of a future with him. Kelly wasn't much for romance anyway.<p>

As for me, I didn't see much of George over the rest of break. Breaks were dedicated to catching up on the obscene amount of homework I had collected, which was a lot more than normal students due to my crazy dream of being a Healer. Kelly, Kim and I hardly left the common room over Christmas break aside from meals, so that left little time for me to define exactly what George and I were. Kelly and Kim were confident that an extended make out session automatically meant we were a couple, but I wasn't so sure.

A small part of me still hoped Cedric would come around, but then I remembered George's lips against mine and my body shivered like it had been plunged into a tank of exploding pop rocks. I liked George, but did I like him enough to risk our friendship?


	6. Take Love Seriously

"Why? Why do classes have to RESUME?" Kelly whined, her voice cracking with sleep. "I'm fucking tired."

Kelly's monologue was enough to wake both Kim and I up. Kim groggily replied to Kelly's pleas, but neither of us was actually able to distinguish any words. I rolled over to face my clock, which read 7AM.

I moaned at the time, but then noticed a small white piece of paper tucked beneath my clock. I carefully unearthed it and saw his boyish scrawl: _Rise and shine! Can't wait to see your beautiful face today! –George_

I smiled, and my heart fluttered. I guess this means we are dating. And I kind of liked it.

"Look!" I yelled, a little too loudly, causing Kelly and Kim to wince at my excitement. "Look what George wrote me!"

My friends both read the note. Kelly cooed, in between zipping up her robes, "That's adorable!"

"Yeah, great," Kim muttered, not entirely conscious. "What's my first class again?"

After I packed my bag and got dressed, I slipped George's note into one of my books so I could have something to look at during class. I felt excited, triumphant. I had a new boyfriend.

But boyfriend didn't feel like the right word to call George. I still wasn't entirely sure that's what he was. He never technically asked me to be his girlfriend. But when did George Weasley adhere to technicalities?

* * *

><p>I felt like a schoolgirl. Part of me couldn't wait to see George's flaming red hair dawdling against the sea of scarlet clad Gryffindors. The other part was dreading the moment we would officially commit to being boyfriend and girlfriend.<p>

Relationships were work. I hated the time and effort involved in maintaining happiness. I didn't used to, but what was the point of starting another relationship if it was only going to end? Would George and I even last? Did it matter?

I pondered many of these thoughts during my double potions class, which was double brutal thanks to Snape's regained energy for torturing students. I slunk out of class, dreading the amount of homework I had to complete, when George snuck up behind me.

"Well good afternoon, miss," he beamed. He was always smiling.

I rolled my eyes. "If you say so. I just came from double potions."

George winced. "Ooh, tough one. Good thing I didn't take his class."

"You didn't get a good enough grade to."

"I thought ahead."

I shook my head and smirked. "Sure."

We moved away from the students bustling through the hallways, closer to a wall. George started, "So… did you get my-?"

"Your note," I gave him a toothy grin. "Yes. It made me feel a little better about waking up at the ass crack of dawn."

George laughed. "Yes, well, that was the intention. Seeing as you're my girlfriend now you'll be treated to all of the George Weasley treats…"

It felt like someone was squeezing my chest. I had no air. "Girlfriend?"

George's face softened. "Yeah. I mean. You are, aren't you?"

"Yes," I insisted, without even thinking. "Of course. I mean, if you want me to be."

We stared at each other, unsure what to say next. Finally, George spoke, "For a really long time."

It was strange to think that I was desirable. His compliment lit my cheeks aflame. "R-really?"

"I always told you Diggory was a git," he scowled, "for a reason. Aside from the fact that he is a huge git."

I decided to ignore George's comment. "So… now what?"

"Well," George began, and brushed a strand of my wavy blonde hair out of my face, "I hold your hand like this. We walk places together. You know, be seen in public together. Snog a little. Okay, snog a lot. Hang out sometimes. Listen to each other talk. You'll probably do my homework..."

"As if," I scoffed.

"Right, right. Well, I can always hope…"

* * *

><p>Being George's girlfriend was easier, and more fun, than I had imagined. It was like resuming our friendship, but this time around we spent more time together. And kissed. A lot. I couldn't stand Kelly and Kim's squealing coos every time I told them about another long night with George in the Gryffindor common room. They were convinced we were soul mates, after only a few weeks of dating.<p>

By this time, Kelly's relationship with Billie had already died out, and Kim was straddling the line between fuck buddy and stranger. Neither one seemed to mind. They didn't take love as seriously as I did.

I learned that George took his family very seriously, whereas my relationship with my parents seemed distant and sterile. I couldn't wait to get a flat in London and start training at St. Mungo's. George couldn't wait to be done with school period. He and Fred had very little ambition for school left ever since they had begun developing their Skiving Snackboxes. It was clever magic, I had to admit. I loved seeing how excited Fred and George were every time they showed me a new product. Part of me felt like a proud mother, encouraging their creativity and farfetched dreams. The other part of me wanted desperately for George to straighten up and at least care a little about classes.

George was not Cedric, but this—I had to admit—was a good thing.

* * *

><p>After a certain point post-break up, a girl begins to notice all of the flaws in her recent ex-boyfriend. Kim was the most vocal in this field of post-break up science, and always lamented for at least a week about how stupid she was for dating what's-his-name. Kelly generally noticed annoyances in her boyfriends right away, and so she hardly ever needed this phase.<p>

Cedric seemed to transform before my eyes overnight. After our disgruntled conversation in the common room after the Yule Ball, my brain began to bubble with his flaws. Cedric never really shared my sense of humor, and so it was always a trial if I wanted to tell him a joke. Cedric was sort of bossy, and usually prescribed what I did each evening. "To keep me on track," he winked, but remembering his sly smile made my heart race with anger.

And soon, it was like a monsoon of wrongness poured into my memory: Cedric was _too _nice. Cedric didn't like Kelly and Kim very much. Cedric slurped his soup. Cedric snored whenever we napped together.

"I can't believe I dated him for that long," I vented. George and I were lounging on the couch in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. It was well after midnight on a Friday night. Despite my body's innate desire for sleep, I couldn't stop talking. "When I think back to it, I feel like I worked too hard to make him happy. But he hardly put forth the same effort."

"I know, I told you that several times," George chided me. "He never seemed to care the way you did."

"I know, I know. But still. It was so frustrating for me to have to please him. He could be so condescending sometimes, and hell, he was a _prefect_." Both George and I made a face at the word. "He never got my sense of humor."

"I've always thought you were hilarious."

"He didn't care much for Kim and Kelly, and that was always hard to deal with because they were always around me."

"I think they're brilliant. Kim drinks more than I can," George joked, and I smirked at the memory.

"So why wasn't I dating you, then?"

George's expression softened. "Because I wasn't Diggory."

The thought hung in the air between us. It suffocated my thoughts, and I stayed silent.

"I've liked you since our fourth year," George played with his hands.

"What? You did?" I racked my brain for any indication that George may have had a crush on me, but I came up empty. "I had no idea."

"Honestly? I was a bit obvious sometimes. Diggory didn't like it much."

"Cedric never talked to me about you."

This made George's face twist in shock. "Really?" I nodded. "Well, he knew anyway."

"Knew what?"

George shot me a patronizing look. "That I liked you, but I couldn't have you."

My inner catalogue was still running through fourth and fifth year. It seemed like so long ago.

"You were with Alicia, though," I snapped at my fingers at the memory. "In the spring of our fourth year. And in the beginning of fifth year. I remember you telling me about it."

"It was mostly you squealing about it," George smirked, "I remember not being nearly as thrilled. I didn't care much for her. She let me touch her naughty bits, but it didn't keep me from thinking about you."

"And my naughty bits?"

George gave a big, appreciative laugh. "Exactly."

"Same with Katie?" My mind jumped to the end of last year.

"No, she was shorter." I rolled my eyes. "But yes, essentially the same situation."

My voice was soft, "I had no idea."

George cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with the topic. "Yeah, well, you were with Diggory. You saw the sun shine out his ass."

"Sometimes," I admitted. "He was a good friend. But an awful lover."

"I don't need to hear about your and Diggory's sexcapades." George's face pinched with disgust.

"I was speaking mentally, but since you went there, he wasn't great in bed either. Not completely awful, but Kelly always had to reassure me there is a such thing as better sex."

"Sorry for your absence of tingly bits."

I laughed. "You more than make up for it."

George's face turned very red, but he wore it with pride. "Thanks, I think."

I stuck my tongue out at home. "You're welcome, love."

Silence fell between us. I reclined against the contours of the couch, feeling my body become heavier and heavier against sleep.

George spoke, waking me up. "I'm glad you gave me a chance."

"It should have been you all along," I told him honestly.

We stared at each other, our eyes serious. Finally, George said, "I love you."

And I could feel it in my heart, rattling against my rib cage. I slid closer to him on the couch, and nuzzled against his chest. "I love you, too."

George wrapped his arms around my body, warming me with his touch. He pressed his lips against my forehead. "For a really long time."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is me encouraging you to keep reviewing. Because they make me happy in my soul. Thanks to everyone who has, and who continually, reviews. Let me know what you like, what you think could or should happen, or what your favorite 90's boy band was. (I loved me some Backstreet Boys. And Dreamstreet, but that was like 2001.)**


	7. A Complication

When spring melted the snow on the ground, the first thing I wanted to do was run. Running was like therapy to me: it cleared my mind and calmed my sometimes rabid emotions. And so I strapped on my running shoes, changed into shorts and a t-shirt, and sought company for my first run of the year. Kelly and Kim regularly turned me down for runs, so I knew better than to ask them.

"Are you mad? It's bloody cold out there," Fred shivered just looking at me.

"You'd warm up. And it's not _that_ cold," I tried.

"Please woman, I don't care that much for exercise," Fred grimaced.

"Yeah, I don't think I like you that much," George teased, and I rolled my eyes.

"Only when my hand is in your pants, right?"

George turned bright red, which caused Fred to laugh so hard he spit out his pumpkin juice.

"Right. I'll just run all alone. Woe is me," I simpered. When neither boy changed his mind, I walked out of the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>Being back on the Quidditch pitch made me miss the sport very dearly. I had gotten onto the team when I was a second year, as a reserve chaser. Kelly followed during our third year, and together we became the team's newest chasers. Part of having Cedric as both a boyfriend and a captain meant that I wielded a large amount of power on the Hufflepuff team. But even I knew Cedric would be receiving the captain's badge again for our seventh year.<p>

I started out at a slow pace, allowing my legs to get used to exercise again. After months of being dormant, my legs quickly ached, but I pushed through the pain.

I heard the pounding of footsteps behind me—the soft squish of grass beneath their feet. There was someone running close behind me. I wondered who it was, but let the thought pass just as quickly.

Time slid beneath my feet. I didn't know how long I ran for, or how long. Only that it was getting dark, my limbs ached, and I was tired.

"Good run," my frantic eyes met Cedric's, who was panting just as hard as I was. Sweat was pouring down his temple, wetting his hair. My stomach knotted.

"Yeah," I said, indifferent. Despite my weakening body, I pushed myself into the changing room and closed the door.

My senses often provoked buried memories. Even though my mind was now revolting against my feelings for Cedric, I couldn't help but be persuaded by his body. And being alone in the changing room only reminded me of long, hot showers with my ex-boyfriend.

When I walked out of the changing room and back into the castle, bundled up in warm winter robes, I saw no sign of Cedric.

* * *

><p>I went running six days a week, at the same time every day. And every day that I went running, Cedric was also there. I had forgotten that Cedric also enjoyed running; this was one of the many activities that originally brought us together. Cedric and I never spoke when we ran together—but I couldn't deny that it was nice to have company. Every day, we pushed ourselves a little farther, a little harder, a little faster. And every day, at the end of each run, Cedric would say, "Good run."<p>

Running with Cedric was like living in another world. I began to crave his company; I even waited for him to arrive before I began. Having him panting next to me, striving for the same goal, made my heart race like I was keeping a dirty secret. Part of me felt like there wasn't any reason to tell George, Kelly or Kim that I was spending time with Cedric, however limited our words. But every time they asked how my run was—and I didn't offer this information—my stomach felt sick with guilt. Running with Cedric made me resent him less—made me resent our relationship less.

I was stretching in the May sunshine, six weeks after Cedric and I had established our routine. Since it was getting warmer, I was wearing only a sports bra and shorts. I tried to convince myself that this was _not_ because I was trying to impress Cedric; although part of me wanted to catch him checking out my body.

Our words were growing with each passing week. We never spoke inside the castle, but it seemed like the Quidditch pitch was our safe haven—where neither George nor Cho existed.

"I was thinking about running around the grounds today," I told Cedric as soon as he arrived. Cedric was shirtless, and despite my will power, I couldn't help but stare. "Do you want to come?"

"Sounds good." I pushed myself off of the ground, when Cedric offered his hand. I ignored the fluttering in my chest. "Lead the way?"

I loved Hogwarts in spring: the grounds were radiant and teeming with energy. Students flooded outside, eager to enjoy the newfound sunshine. It was only then that George crept back into my mind, and I worried that he would see us.

"So how's Cho?" I asked. Cedric and I had "safe" subjects to discuss: class, professors, Kelly and Kim, and minor details in our relationships. We pretended that we liked each other's partners. This was a standard starter question.

"Good. She has O.W.L.s soon, so she's been a bit stressed," Cedric divulged. "How's George been?"

"Oh, fine," I mused, vague. My mind drifted back to the Gryffindor common room, a goofy smile exploding on my lips; but I had to stop myself before I ran into a stump.

"That's good."

"Definitely. I'm really happy. I love him a lot. I didn't think I would, but I do. He's much different than you." It came up like word vomit—I just kept talking. "Which has its good and bad things."

"I know what you mean," Cedric divulged, "Cho is great. I love her. But it was hard to let go of you."

I laughed, uncomfortable. "You broke up with me."

"I wasn't sure why, sometimes. I knew I liked Cho. And it wasn't fair to you." Cedric realized what he was saying, and quickly covered his tracks, "Of course, I don't regret it now. I love Cho, and I'm glad her and I worked out."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It hurt—a lot. But George is…" I couldn't think of a word to summarize my boyfriend, "He's incredible to me."

"He's liked you for a really long time."

I thought back to my conversation with George, but I decided to play dumb. "How do you know?"

"I saw the way he looked at you, even while we were dating," Cedric smiled at me, and it made me feel immensely guilty for even running next to him, "That's why I didn't like you hanging out with him."

"You never told me."

"I didn't want to control you."

This was the most we had ever talked to each other. My lungs were aching for air, and it was getting harder to speak.

"Does Cho know we're running together?" My curiosity got the best of me. We were coming closer to the Black Lake. Students littered the grass, and I wondered if George was among them.

Cedric didn't answer right away. He mustered a weak, "No. Does George?"

I felt less guilty, but a little more dangerous. "No."

We didn't speak after that. We rounded the top of the Black Lake, heading back towards the Quidditch pitch. This made the run longer.

"Do you think he'd be mad, if he knew?" Cedric asked, once we were away from all of the people.

I honestly didn't know. But my gut told me, "Furious, probably. How about Cho?"

"She doesn't like you," he told me pointedly, and I bit my lip in anger.

"She doesn't know me."

"I think it's a new partner rule: they have to hate the ex," Cedric joked, but it only made me wonder what he had told Cho about me.

"Probably."

The further we ran, the hotter the sun seemed to get. Sweat was dripping from my forehead, pouring into my mouth. The salt taste made me gag, but we were so close.

"Are you feeling alright?" I wasn't sure which conversation he was referring to.

"Tired," I quipped, and he snickered.

Together, we crossed the lower part of the Hogwarts grounds, towards the Black Lake. I slowed my pace and stopped on the dock standing over the lake. I collapsed onto the ground, feeling the wood grate against my back. Cedric dropped down next to me, dead weight.

I was inhaling oxygen like I had never taken a breath before. After a few minutes of laying in the sunshine, my lungs resumed a normal pace.

Cedric was standing when I sat up. He offered me his hand, and I accepted. Together, we took the first few steps back towards the Quidditch pitch.

Cedric draped his arm around my shoulder, and his touch made me shiver. "Good run."

"Definitely."

My eyes wandered over to the large willow tree by the lake, and I wondered who was sitting under it.

"I still consider you a good friend, you know. You know more about me than most people do. And I'd hate to give that up," Cedric confessed, his voice low. "I think that is what I was trying to tell you all those months ago. But it came out wrong every time."

My throat confined itself, and it made me feel sick. I felt the same way. But I wasn't sure if I could separate ex-boyfriend Cedric from boyfriend Cedric. Especially when his arm was so lazily strewn across my shoulder.

"You know things about me I'm not sure you should know."

Cedric laughed. "Same."

We passed the large willow tree. Cedric stopped, and pulled me into an embrace. His sweat poured into my nostrils, and I was drawn back to the beginning of the year, when Cedric was mine.

"OY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" George's voice boomed. My veins froze, and I was stuck in that spot, attached to my ex-boyfriend.

George stormed over to us. As soon as he was close enough, he shoved Cedric away from me and drew his wand.

"George, stop it!" I screeched. I grabbed his arm and tried to get him to physically lower his wand. "It's nothing. Really, I can explain."

"Explain how you and Diggory are suddenly so chummy?" George spat.

"Yeah, because we're friends," Cedric said defensively.

"I'm not talking to you," George growled.

Cedric looked taken aback. "It's alright. Nothing is happening between us."

George was furious. His breaths were rapid and his limbs were shaking. My stomach clenched with fear.

"Maybe it's best if we talk later," I suggested, my voice small. I glanced behind George, and noticed Fred, Kelly, and Kim watching our interaction with wide eyes. "You're really upset, and I don't want you overreacting over nothing."

"This isn't nothing," George shook. His eyes met mine, and I watched his irises dance with fury.

"I know. I just…" I trailed off. What was the point of defending myself if he wouldn't listen to reason? "Let's talk later. Okay?"

George lowered his wand, and exhaled deeply. "Fine." And then he walked away, back towards the willow tree.

Cedric and I stood rooted to our spots, unsure of how to react. After a few moments, Cedric started to walk back towards the changing rooms. I followed a few steps behind. Once we were out of sight, Cedric touched my arm, and then drew it away like he had been shocked.

"Everything will be alright. He'll calm down, and you can talk to him," Cedric reassured me. "If not, I can try talking to him."

"He'll love that," I said bitingly.

Cedric shrugged. "It's worth a shot." He squeezed my shoulder, and then disappeared into the changing room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I really like complex characters. I try my best to keep everyone away from certain polarizations. Hopefully I succeeded. Continue your lovely reviewing. You all rock.  
><strong>


	8. Fights

My heart was hollow, and the shower was hot. The water burned my skin; the sensation made me want to drown myself. I had made a mistake, and had gotten caught. My veins swam with guilt and I knew there was nothing I could do but apologize and try to make it better.

I dragged my feet to the Hufflepuff common room. Somewhere above me, I heard Peeves singing a song to Filch. Otherwise, the hallways were unbearably quiet. I got to our portrait and said the password.

"It was still a stupid fucking thing to do," Kelly vented.

"You know she wasn't-" Kim stopped when she noticed me walk in. She and Kelly were lounging on the main couch in front of the fire. Kim's face was softened by the glow, but Kelly looked murderous.

"Do you want to talk?" Kim asked, her voice soft. She motioned for me to sit on the floor in front of them, and I quietly obliged.

The only noise came from the fire crackling behind me. It burned my back the same way the shower water had, and the sensation made me feel like dying. I heard the bursting laughter of girls in their dormitory. A loud "ooh!" from boys playing exploding snap in the corner of the common room.

"I can explain," I began hastily, and Kelly rolled her eyes. I swallowed my last breath of air, like I was about to plunge myself into a pool, and explained, "It was wrong of me not to say anything. But honestly, Cedric and I just friends. All we do is run together. We don't even talk when we see each other in here, or in class."

"You're not cheating," Kelly said skeptically.

"No. I love George, honestly." My eyes burned when I thought of how upset I had made him, but I brushed away the emotion with the back of my hand. "I just like spending time with Cedric."

"Because you like him," Kelly said pointedly.

"This is why I didn't tell anyone. Because I knew it would get blown out of proportion like this," I sighed, exasperated. "We're just friends."

"You were half naked and hugging him. You didn't tell us anything about your friendship. How did you expect George to react? How did you expect us to react?"  
>"I'm allowed to hug him," I said defensively, and Kelly glared at me like I had just suggested she set fire to Kim.<p>

"With George watching?"

"I didn't know he was there! And even if he was, why does it matter?" Our voices were getting louder and louder. The boys in the corner stopped playing their game, and started watching us.

"Because he fucking thinks you cheated on him!"

The confirmation stung like a slap to my cheek. "But I'm not."

"How was he supposed to know?"

"Kelly, calm down," Kim spoke, her voice strained and small. She hated when we fought. "I believe Michelle."

"It's not that I don't believe her…" she trailed off.

"Then what?" I insisted.

"You still love Cedric, and it's not fair to George," Kelly vented, her voice emotional.

Kelly's eyes were beginning to water. I played with the frays on my shorts.

"I was with him for two years," I prefaced, and then told my friends what Cedric had told me during our run. "It's hard to let go."

"I think a piece of you will always love him," Kim theorized, "But it's just a matter of how much. So long as you aren't with George because you love Cedric, or as long as you don't think about Cedric when you're with George, I don't see why it's a problem."

"Again: cheating," Kelly spat.

"I'm not cheating on him." The conversation was getting exhaustive. "I don't know what you need to hear. I'm sorry for not telling you. But I'm probably still going to go running with Cedric. I'm still going to be his friend. You can't make me not be his friend."

"Do you love him?"

"Who?"

Kelly shot Kim a patronizing look, as if my response proved a point.

Kim stood up, her hands in the air. "I don't want to get in the middle of this." She then walked out of the common room.

"I don't know what you want me to say," my voice shook.

"I just… can't believe you would do that to George. It was fucking stupid of you. You might lose him because of this," Kelly's voice was rattling, too.

I tried to imagine my life without George, but the image left me feeling completely empty.

"I know. Trust me, I know. But honestly, Cedric and I spent most of the run talking about how much I liked George. I think Kim's right, though. And I'm not going to lie, I do sort of have a crush on him. But it's not like I want him back."

"Oh, really?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, really. Cedric's a big part of my life. But George is an even bigger part."

Kelly pressed her hand to her temple. "You know I had to talk George down from absolutely murdering Cedric."

"Oh?" I moved up to the couch, next to her, and rested my head in her lap. Kelly's body stiffened at my sudden affection, but then relented.

"He has more rage then I do," Kelly laughed. "But it's only because he loves you, a lot. And he was really upset."

I closed my eyes. My friend ran her fingers through my hair. "I know. I didn't mean for this to happen. It was just… bad timing."

"It would have been much easier to say something in the first place."

"I didn't think you guys needed to know. At least—I didn't want to make George upset."

"Look how that turned out for you."

I grit my teeth. "I know. I'm an awful person."

"Not entirely." Kelly pressed her lips to my forehead. "I have done much worse things."

The room was quiet for a moment. I heard movement outside of the common room door; the boys in the corner resumed playing their game.

Kim spoke the password, and she came tumbling in through the portrait, a cigarette dangling from her lips, and George Weasley hanging on her hand.

"Someone came to talk to you," she spoke, her teeth pressed against the cigarette. She spied the boys in the corner of the room and yelled for them to move. Their tiny, petrified bodies ran directly upstairs.

George's face was red and pinched. Kim led him over to the couch, and sat him down next to me. When I sat up, Kelly stood and disappeared with Kim.

"How are you?" I asked—a stupid question.

George grunted in response. His eyes burned a hole into my temple.

"I'm really, really sorry that you had to find out this way. Cedric and I are only running friends, though. Honestly. I didn't tell you before because…" I trailed off, and I could feel the tears coming. "I didn't want to hurt you. But obviously that was a dumb idea. I'm so sorry for upsetting you. But you really have nothing to worry about."

"You're running half-naked with your ex-boyfriend. What the hell am I supposed to think? You should put on a damn shirt," George quaked.

"It gets hot out when I run. And please, there is no mystery between Cedric and me. He knows what's underneath here," I motioned to my naughty bits.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

My face softened. I could feel panic rising in my chest. "I'm sorry, George. What can I do to make this better?"

"I don't want you to see Diggory anymore," he said simply, his features contorted with rage.

I shook my head. "I can't do that."

"Why the bloody hell not?"

"You can't tell me who I can and can't be friends with!" I yelled, indignant.

"I can when he's your ex-boyfriend!"

"Right, so that means you can't see Alicia or Katie anymore," I snarled.

George was red-faced. "It's different with them!"

"It's not!"

George was stone-faced. "I didn't love them."

"I didn't love Cedric the way I love you."

The words hung in the air between us. A few Hufflepuffs came and left the common room. Someone above us was blasting the new Weird Sisters song.

"I'm not asking you to like him. We go running together. That's it," I said quietly. When George didn't respond, I started to stand and go back to my room. I knew I was losing the battle.

"Michelle." Hearing him say my name made my heart leap into my throat.

"Yes?"

"I need to think about it."

What it was, I wasn't sure. But I wasn't going to press the issue. "Alright," I muttered, and then wandered up the stairs.


	9. Crossroads

If breaking up with Cedric felt like the end of the world, then breaking up with George felt like the end of the universe.

Kelly and Kim were a massive support. Kim brought me toast and tea from the kitchen, and Kelly tried to reassure me that everything would be alright. But days went by, and I hadn't heard a thing from George. I had already convinced myself it was over.

"He's just hurt. And stubborn. Mostly stubborn," Kelly explained. "He'll come around to it."

But what if he didn't?

"He will. He fought too hard to get you," Kim rubbed my leg. Her touch was soothing, and it made me feel a little better.

My tear ducts were completely dry. I couldn't believe I had fallen so hard for George Weasley.

Charms class was the worst. Since we had started dating, George usually sat next to me. And the class had adjusted to this new seating arrangement by moving around us. But students were hard to budge, and so George was still stuck next to me. My words got caught in my throat, and I couldn't speak. I forced myself to stare straight ahead. My eyes burned with tears, and a few slid down my cheeks. I could still smell him, and his scent made my heart feel like it had been pummeled by hippogriffs. It was the longest two hours of my life.

"He looked at you a lot," Kim told me after class, as we walked back to the common room. "He didn't seem very happy."

"He's still mad?" I panicked.

"No, he's upset that you're upset," Kim explained, rubbing my arm. "Take a deep breath and try to relax. This isn't over."

It felt over. Fred and George walked by; Fred gave me a sympathetic smile and a wave, but George had his eyes glued to the floor. Kim squeezed my shoulder in support.

"It'll be fine, trust me," Kim kissed my cheek. "He loves you; I can see it in his stare."

* * *

><p>The June sunshine crept into my room at 7AM. It had only been a week, but it felt like centuries. Beneath my clock, I found a note scrawled with familiar handwriting: <em>I've thought about it, and I hate seeing pretty girls cry. I love you.–George<em>

Despite my best intention to smile, I sobbed, my cries shaking my lungs. Kelly and Kim shot up in bed. After a half second of confusion, they noticed the small piece of paper in my hands. Kim muttered, "oh no," but Kelly ran over to me and tore it out of my hands.

"I'll kill him," she seethed. But her body relaxed as soon as she read the note. "Oh—never mind. This is… good. Why are you crying, you crazy person?"

"He… He," I gasped, my lungs desperate for oxygen. Kelly rubbed my back while Kim watched from her bed, concerned. "He _loves_ me."

Kelly smirked, and held me in her arms. "You have no idea, love." She kissed my temple. "Go get dressed, you nut ball."

We resumed our morning with a tinge of normalcy: a lot of complaining about the early time, and slow moving bodies. We piled down the stairs and across the common room, when I heard Cedric's voice.

"Are you alright?" Cedric asked. Kelly and Kim stood behind me, their arms crossed and eyes watching. "How is everything?"

I turned to my friends, and told them to go ahead. Kelly opened her mouth to say something, but Kim grabbed her arm before she could find the words, "Come on."

"It's good now, anyway," I beamed, and Cedric smiled.

"I'm so glad. I was worried about you. Do you mind my asking what happened?"

I decided to tell Cedric the basics of the situation, and censor out most of the argument. In this new version, there was much less yelling, and a lot more understanding.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Cedric said. We were approaching the Great Hall, and our conversation was getting lost in the mix of hundreds of other students. I scanned the crowd, and saw Fred and George sitting at the Gryffindor table, having a laugh with their friends.

Fred noticed me first. When he saw me, he bared a toothy smile and waved enthusiastically. He then nudged his twin in the arm, who leapt at the sight of me. George nearly ran over to me, and seeing him smile at me again made my heart race with excitement.

George wrapped me in an embrace. I could hear his heart hammering inside his ribcage. We stood awkwardly in the middle of the Great Hall, for everyone to see.

"You're my everything," George whispered in my ear, and his breath sent shivers down my spine.

* * *

><p>As June wrapped up, and the third task drew nearer, everything seemed to fall into place. I resumed my normal schedule of class, fun, study, and run—despite George's tightened jaw every time I told him I was going out. George and I had resolved to treat the Cedric situation as a "don't ask, don't tell" sort of thing. But even the thought of me being in the same vicinity as my ex-boyfriend drove George mad with jealousy: he was unnecessarily protective of me, and always made sure to speak loudly whenever Cedric was around. I thought was an ego thing—but George wouldn't talk about it.<p>

On the day of the third task, Cedric and I went for an early run. The air was cool, but the sun was warm.

"Are you nervous?" I wondered aloud. The Quidditch pitch was completely lost in a maze, so we ran around the grounds.

Cedric's face turned a little green at the question. "Definitely. But I'm more anxious to get it over with. I could sure use the winnings."

"You'll share, right?" I joked, and Cedric laughed.

"Yeah, right. The task doesn't seem so daunting, anyway. My mum and dad will be here soon to watch."

"That's so nice!" I loved Cedric's mom—she was like my second mother, considering the amount of time I had spent at their house over the summers.

"Oh, yeah. I'm looking forward to seeing them."

We ran the rest of the time in silence, unsure of what else to say. When we reached the end of our run, we hugged, his sweat invading my nostrils.

"Good luck tonight," I told him, earnestly.

"Thank you," he murmured into my ear, "for everything." And those were the last words Cedric Diggory ever spoke to me.

* * *

><p>Hogwarts was bustling with energy. Exams had ended that morning, and students were emerging from their dorms or the library to greet the warm day. Family and friends of the champions were beginning to arrive as well. After my run, I ran into Cedric's parents. His mom hugged me just as tightly, but his dad sent me a stiff smile and avoided eye contact. Cedric's dad never thought too much of me anyway—I was not a prefect, and I did not match "Cedric's life plan."<p>

I wasn't sure who, if anyone, would show up for Harry. Hermione and I—who had become much closer after spending several late nights studying in the library for exams—tried to distract Harry with conversation, but he seemed just as tense as ever about the task.

"Oy, come here," George did not hide his excitement well. He was standing a few feet away from the table, motioning me like he was landing an airplane. "I want you to meet someone."

Hermione snickered over my boyfriend's enthusiasm. "He's like a little kid, isn't he?"

"That's alright. Better than a human vacuum," I nodded towards Ron, who was shoveling food in his mouth like he had never eaten before. Hermione's face reddened.

I gave her arm an affectionate squeeze, and then ran over to meet George before he imploded from sheer excitement. He linked our arms together and hurriedly led me out of the Great Hall.

"Who am I meeting?" I asked, my words jostled by our pace. Students flew past us; I felt like we were in a Quidditch match. "And where, exactly?"

George led me into a small room down the hall from the Great Hall. The champions' families were littered about. I wondered again about Harry, when I heard George say, "Michelle, I want you to meet my mum."

Mrs. Weasley looked a mixture of disheveled and ecstatic. When she saw me, she didn't hesitate to engulf me in a bone-crunching hug.

"So nice to meet you!" she squealed, and my face burned at her love. "George has told me so much about you."

I never imagined, nor did I ever see, George writing letters home. But I knew his family was too important to him to keep a detail like this from his parents.

"Good things, I hope," I joked, and Mrs. Weasley laughed.

"The best! You want to be a Healer! That's fantastic, dear." Her eyes twinkled. I may have liked her more than Cedric's mom.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," I bent lower—she was much shorter than me—to give her another hug. "I appreciate it."

"Call me Molly, dear," she placed her hand on my cheek, like she was trying to memorize my face. After a few seconds, she dropped her hand. Her touch was gentle, and it warmed my cheek.

It was then I noticed a second person standing next to Molly. He was the same height at George, and had long red hair pulled into a pony tail.

The stranger offered his hand, "I'm Bill. Nice to meet you."

"Michelle." His grip was firm. It hurt my fingers.

George was so proud to show me off to his family, even if it was just his mother and brother. I was a distinction to Fred ("A damn good one at that," George winked), and he loved being able to brag about something he was really passionate about—his love.

It turned out that Molly and Bill were there for Harry, who did not yet know of their arrival. When George and I offered to go get him, Molly waved it off.

"We'll walk around. They have to be in here soon, anyway," she rationalized. "Go get good seats, and we'll meet you up there."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I just discovered Robot Unicorn Attack on Facebook. Playing until I die, BBL. (Also, review and stuff. That makes me happy.)**


	10. Endings, or Beginnings

Waiting for the task to be over was the worst part. The Hogwarts band played some good songs, but as with any large venue with little entertainment, it was up to us to think of things to do or say. My friends and I sat lower in the stadium, in what was typically the Hufflepuff cheering section. We were arranged as such: Kim, Kelly, me, George, Fred, Bill, and Molly. Hermione, Ron, and their friends were sitting a row above us.

"This happened at the second task, too. I have nothing to look at," Kelly lamented, motioning to the empty field. "They should give us games or something. This is no fun."

"You should go play in the maze," Kim suggested.

"It's a brilliant idea," I agreed.

Kelly sighed. "You guys are so useless."

"Isn't she? I tell her once a day," George intervened. When I shot him a menacing glare, he cleared his throat, "I mean… She's lovely. Absolutely lovely."

Kelly gasped. "You are in so much trouble, sir."

"Will I get a spanking?" he asked seriously.

Kelly grinned devilishly. "Most definitely. You'll spank him, won't you, Michelle?"

I buried my face in my hands, and leaned over my knees. "I am not talking to either of you right now."

Both laughed. "But _Michelle!_" Kelly persisted.

I didn't come up for air. I said, through muffled hands, "No, Kelly. That is inappropriate."

Kelly was about to reply, when the crowd erupted in cheer. The band struck up a victory song and a few people began pouring out into the Quidditch field.

"Who's back? Who won?" Kim asked excitedly. She was standing on her seat to try to get a better view. "I can't see. Looks like… Harry and Cedric! They tied!"

"Why are they laying down?" Kelly wondered aloud. The crowd pushed us down onto the field, when the music cut. Gasps and moans ran through the crowd.

"Oh my-" Kim stopped, and cupped her hand over her mouth. Both she and Kelly turned to look at me, like I was about to shape shift into an awful monster.

But I couldn't see anything. "What happened? What's-"

And then I heard the echoes. "He's dead." "The boy's been killed." "Who is it?" "Cedric." "Cedric Diggory—dead."

I stepped to the side a little, my mind completely numb. I saw Harry crouched over Cedric's lifeless body.

I didn't believe it; not at first. My mouth whispered, "Cedric," and my feet started after him. Kelly and Kim grabbed the back of my robes.

"No, Michelle, don't," they struggled against my grasp. I was getting more and more desperate. My heart was drumming in my eardrums, and nausea balled in my throat. People were screaming behind, wailing awful sounds, but I didn't believe it. It couldn't be possible.

"Let go!" I wailed, but my friends didn't relent. The whispers continued behind me. "Cedric is dead." "He's dead." "Gone."

The crowd in front of me dissipated at Dumbledore's word for students to return to their houses immediately. Kelly and Kim began to walk me away from the field, but my feet remained grounded.

"Cedric!" I called for him, but he wasn't moving. Cedric's dad was laying across his son's chest, bawling. My eyes burned with tears and soon there were trails down my cheeks. My sobs shook my lungs and I couldn't move. "Cedric!" my voice was high and pathetic.

My knees collapsed beneath my weight. I wailed loudly into the grass, my fingers grasping at the earth below me. Cedric was not just my ex-boyfriend. He was a good friend; my confidant for six years; my lover for two. We had been close friends from year one to our break up, and a little bit after that. Despite my pleadings not to, I still loved him—very dearly.

There were more noises above me. Kelly and Kim heaved me up; Kelly cooed about getting me some tea, and a relaxing spell. Kim swiveled her head around, like she was looking for someone.

George stood in front of me, his expression blank. He did not like Cedric, but he did not like death more. Kelly and Kim pushed me into his arms, and I sobbed into his chest.

"It'll be alright," he whispered into my ear, but the affirmation only made me more hysterical. "I love you. It'll be alright."

There was too much noise behind me, and one less movement of life. The air was teeming with energy, but I never felt so alone.

* * *

><p>A memorial service was to be held at Hogwarts on the next day, the last day of school. Kelly, Kim and I dressed in black, and arrived early to pay our respects. Fred and George arrived soon after. Instead of migrating to the Gryffindor table, the two sat with the Hufflepuffs—George next to me, and Fred next to Kelly. The Great Hall was decorated in black drapery, and there was a distinct absence of food.<p>

After several painful moment of silence, Dumbledore stood, and delivered his eulogy.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about. Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory… Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

The word Voldemort was just as prevalent as death. We raised our glasses in honor of Cedric, and then in honor of Harry. I drank to both boys, my eyes dried of sadness. I was glad I had mended the bridge with Cedric before it was too late.

After the ceremony, it was time to leave. As simple as that. One less body leaving. The thought made me feel hollow.

Kelly, Kim, and George held me together, and for a moment or two, we were a single entity: my soul mates.

Kelly and Kim walked ahead of George and me out of the Great Hall. George held my hand, and it made me feel less lonely.

"Come stay with me this summer," George offered, "at least for a little."

I couldn't say yes or no. My mind was still with Cedric.

"We usually travel to America for a month over the summer," I suddenly thought. And reality collapsed around me: I would have to miss Cedric's funeral, unless I persuaded my parents to leave later.

George squeezed my waist, and I felt a little better. "Alright, love. Let me know."

We stood in the Great Hall, facing each other. I brushed his hair out of his eyes, and his face softened at my touch.

"You need a haircut," I scowled at the length of his hair.

He smirked. "It's the first thing I'll do when I get home, promise."

"Good, or no more tingly bits."

George gasped. "Cruel woman!"

I laughed, and it felt good. George held me one last time, and then let go.

"I'll see you in a few," he waved as he walked away.

I waved back. Students bustled around me, chattering cheerfully around their summer plans. Above me, I heard Peeves shattering a glass. Even when death shook a school, life still resumed: the world still spun, my thoughts still raced, and my heart still beat.

I took a deep breath, and walked back towards the common room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is the final chapter of _You Never Know._ I was really hesitant about posting this story at first, because I hadn't written for this site in almost 6 years. But I'm glad I did-I received a lot of positive feedback, which I enjoyed reading. **

**I have a Deathly Hallows story mostly written, but I feel like it will be completely altered once the final movie comes out on the 15th. Look for that story to be published soon. I also toyed with the idea of writing an Order of the Phoenix storyline, but I honestly can't think of a plot for it. So here's where I mooch: If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting!**


	11. Author's Note: A plug for my new fic

Hey there, all. It's been a while.

For those of you who have enjoyed reading this story (or perhaps stumbled upon it with hopes of it being good), I urge you to read my new George/OC story, _And He's Loved You Forever. _

_And He's Loved You Forever _is a reimagining of this story. In short: it's much, much better. There's more drama, more romance, and more silly times with your same favorite characters. The biggest changes to the plot are that Michelle and Kelly are now Ravenclaws, while Kim remains a Hufflepuff. This was mostly a reaction to our Pottermore sortings (which unexpectedly turned my life upside-down).

This is the link to _And He's Loved You Forever: .net/s/7665176/1/And_Hes_Loved_You_Forever_

Please check it out and let me know what you think. I look forward to reading your reviews! Enjoy!


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